The em dash is, in my opinion, one of the most incorrectly used punctuations marks.
Either people use other marks in its place (like the hyphen – or the double hyphen – -) or they used it in a way that could be used by a comma or even without any punctuation at all.
Other than in the most unusual circumstances (like using a typewriter or software that recognizes only ASCII text), there should be no reason to use other punctuation in place of the em dash. To make it easier, here are the shortcuts for creating the em dash:
Mac: Shift + Alt (Option) + –
Windows: Alt + 0151
Here are the circumstances where an em dash can be used:
- Parenthetical statements that already contain a comma
I quickly stopped off at the store—to get some apples, butter, and cheese—on my way to ask my girlfriend of 5 years to marry me. - Parenthetical statements where parentheses would be too strong a break
My cows—all of which have a weird house-shaped spot on their bums—include Bessy, which produces the creamiest milk - Replace colons or serve as harder versions of commas
It’s the most wonderful time of the year—Christmas!
Follow these tips, and you should be the punctuation envy of all your friends.
